Contents

In her youth, Delilah was a baker's apprentice working in Dunwall Tower, and she claims to have been a friend to Jessamine Kaldwin when they were young (an assertion that the Dressmaker affirms). After an incident in which she and Jessamine were caught in the act of performing some sort of prohibited activity, Delilah was blamed and whipped, and her mother was fired, while Jessamine received no punishment.[2] Eventually, Delilah abandoned her career in baking to become an apprentice painter and sculptor under Anton Sokolov, though she left his tutelage sometime before the events of The Knife of Dunwall.

At an indeterminate time, she became involved with black magic, and was marked by the Outsider. She also began a relationship with barrister Arnold Timsh, who favored her so heavily that it caused rifts within his own family. The ship which prompts Daud to begin his investigations at the Rothwild Slaughterhouse was once owned by Timsh, and named in honor of Delilah. She was eventually able to seduce him into signing his fortune over to her and subsequently disappeared--Timsh then sold the ship bearing her name, but kept her as the beneficiary of his mother's will.

According to Arnold Timsh's niece, Thalia Timsh, her uncle both loved and feared Delilah.

Delilah is the subject of Daud's investigation in The Knife of Dunwall, which leads him to uncover her influence on Timsh and associated happenings. Daud is briefly able to speak with Delilah through a statue in the Timsh Estate--during the conversation, Delilah expresses animosity toward Daud and claims she should kill him, but chooses not to "for the sake of [her] sisters." Instead, she threatens him with unknown peril should he continue his investigations, and warns "there are great changes coming, and I'll expect you not to interfere."

While much of her motivation remains secret, it is revealed that she cooperated with Billie Lurk in a mutually beneficial plot to assassinate Daud, and directed the Overseers to the Whalers'hideout in the Flooded District. When the plot fails, she appears to Daud in person for the first time. In low chaos, after Lurk has given herself up to Daud's mercy, Delilah threatens both of them with brutal death should she ever see them again. In high chaos, Delilah taunts Daud, informing him that her unknown plans are falling into place.

"The girl Emily Kaldwin will have the mind of Delilah the First, who did not inherit everything she got, but came to power through the force of her own genius."

―Delilah on her plot.

Delilah acts as the main antagonist of Dishonored's final DLC, The Brigmore Witches. Directing her coven to observe the gang warfare taking place in Drapers Ward and assure that Daud's advance to Brigmore Manor is hampered, she cloisters herself in the mansion in order to complete a painting of Emily Kaldwin. Upon Daud's arrival at the manor, he discovers that Delilah has traveled with the painting to the Void, where it will act as a critical part of a powerful ritual: Delilah intends to extract Emily's mind and possess her body, ruling the Empire in the girl's place.

Daud interrupts the ritual and battles Delilah, with two possible options for elimination: Daud can kill Delilah outright, or force the ritual to go awry by replacing the painting of Emily with a painting of the Void, trapping her there.

Delilah is one of eight people who bear the Mark of the Outsider (including Corvo Attano[3]).

When speaking with Daud during the high chaos ending of The Knife of Dunwall, Delilah taunts him, saying, "Our dark-eyed friend has lost interest in helping you."

While Delilah claims to bear an Outsider's mark on her hand, one is not visible.

Thalia Timsh claims that, during a seance, she and her uncle witnessed a specter of Delilah in the Brigmore Manor, painting Daud's name on a canvas.

During her warning to Daud, Delilah expresses that her sisters "were very impressed with [him] once upon a time."

Delilah's plan to possess Emily is hinted in The Knife of Dunwall through A Poem by Delilah, found at the Timsh Estate.

In The Brigmore Witches, the Outsider reveals that Delilah "imposes her will" on objects, which allows her to control statues and utilize paintings to steal a person's spirit.

A witch at the Brigmore Manor notes that Delilah possessed Timsh in this manner.

Unlike other witches, Delilah's skin does not turn green when she is in combat.

If Daud kills Delilah with his sword, a special animation plays: Daud stabs Delilah in the ribs and she grabs the blade, driving it in deeper and swiping at his face until he pulls the sword free. Delilah then lunges at Daud, screaming, before he stabs her through the mouth.